Deadly or otherwise harmful spores, viruses and other bacteria plague our environment. Many technologies have arisen to respond to this problem. For example, to eliminate and/or reduce the growth of bacteria in foods, various methods of irradiating food have been developed. Deadly and/or disease-causing spores can be found in other locations as well, as demonstrated by the discovery of anthrax and various letters sent through the United States mail. Such spores, bacteria, viruses and microorganisms can spread naturally, such as through normal daily human contact, or they can be introduced artificially, such as through terrorism or other human intervention.
Prior methods to eliminate and/or prevent the growth of such microorganisms typically include the use of high power radiation to kill the microorganisms. Ultraviolet light, and in particular UV-C light having a wavelength of approximately 254 nm, is known to damage the DNA of bacteria, viruses and other pathogens by forming covalent bonds between adjacent thymine bases in their DNA. This action prevents the organism from reproducing. Thus, some systems have used ultraviolet light to provide decontamination effects. Other systems, such as that described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,268,200, have used microwave energy to achieve similar results. In each case, such systems typically require high power and/or long exposure to the light for decontamination to occur, and they are not effective to kill many types of organisms.
Accordingly, an improved system and method for destroying unwanted organisms is desired.